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British Indian Ocean Territory - British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory lies roughly in the middle of the Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Indonesia, and 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) south of India, near the ► Seychelles and the ► Maldives. It was governed as the British Indian Ocean Territory, but Britain's ownership was disputed by its former inhabitants and by ► Mauritius. The territory comprises the six atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands. The largest island is the atoll of Diego Garcia, which is the site of a joint naval support facility of the ► United Kingdom and the ► United States. The former indigenous Ilois now live in ► Mauritius, which claims the islands as part of its sovereign territory.
On 3rd October 2024, the UK announced it would hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a historic move, following negotiations. It includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, used by the US government as a military base for its navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft. The US-UK base will remain on Diego Garcia, and settlement will not be permitted on that island, but Mauritius will be able to resettle the rest of the area.[1]
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